Have you played the game Taboo?
You try to get your team to guess the word at the top by giving oral clues BUT you cannot use any of the words listed on the card.
I had my junior high students make a history version of this game but you could make it for any topic!
I set it to automatically make a copy of my template for you so you can edit. Click on the words to edit them.
I had my students work as partners and write the word/name down on the board so no one did the same term. When the page was complete, they printed and cut them out so we had a class deck. Making the cards was a way to study in disguise. They had to know all about the topic in order to figure out what clue words would be needed.
If you have younger students you may want to make the cards yourself. You could review math vocabulary, science terms, etc. I am teaching 3rd and 4th grade math this summer and I'm thinking about making a set with a number at the top, say 10. Then the taboo "words" could be 2x5, 8+2, 12-2, 5+5.
Tips for playing:
1. You can play with any number of people. I split my class of 16 into 4 teams of 4 and had two games going but I could have done one giant game.
2. Sit in a circle with players alternating from each team. A player from the other team looks over your shoulder to make sure you don't say one of the forbidden words. If a taboo word is said the "checker" can say'"Buzz" or you could use a real buzzer if you have one.
3. Cards may also be "passed" if the clue giver feels like it will be too time consuming or difficult. These passed cards just go back to the end of the deck.
4. We have iPads so one student is in charge of setting the 1 minute timer for each person. You could also use an egg timer or sand timer from a different game.
5. I also gave a small whiteboard and marker to a student to be the score keeper. Alternatively, everyone could keep the cards they got right and add the score up once everyone has had a chance to play. I had my group keep going until all the cards were guessed.
I'd love to hear if you try it with your class. My students thought it was really fun.